1 Corinthians 10:23-29 “Everything is permissible” — but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible” — but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if anyone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake — the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours.
Today's verses provide a principle for Christians to follow: Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. This attitude separates us from secular thinking, especially the absolute part of the statement: NOBODY. All of us must seek the good of others. None of us should seek our good above the good of others. Of course this kind of Christianity separates most of us most of the time, for our lives tend to revolve around our self-interests. If someone else's needs come into conflict with ours, they lose the battle. Basically, humans protect themselves. But this isn't God's nature. We see God's thoughts on human nature after Noah's ark lands on dry land. Before the flood God was disappointed with men because of their corruption and violence. Therefore, He destroys them and all living things except for Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark. Now, you would think mankind would start over by seeking goodness, righteousness, and acceptance with God. However, we learn the nature of man by listening to what God says: Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. (Genesis 8:20-21) As God saw, man's inclination was to seek his own good above the good of others. He will not love his enemies. Jesus said, If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:46-48) Jesus asks the Jewish crowd to be perfect, to love as God loves: He sends the rain on the just and the unjust. God blesses both groups of people: the ones who love him and the ones who despise him. We are to be as He is. But we often do not reflect God: we tend to seek our own way, placing ourselves in the forefront of our lives. How can we fulfill Paul's dictate: Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others or Jesus' command: Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect?
A fallen creation needs a Savior, one who pleases God, One who can set us free from the consequences of sin, our self-willed nature. Of course that is Jesus Christ and his work on the cross. He alone pleases God. He alone sets us free to live a life where “Everything is permissible” — but not everything is constructive. Jesus made us right with God because He is our perfect substitute for our sinful lives. He is perfect; we are not. His love never quits; ours does. He is long-suffering; we tend to judge too quickly. We want revenge; He wants restoration. Our inclinations tend to lead to separation and violence. Separation, violence, suspicions are part of our personal, national, and world environment. We confirm God's thoughts about the human condition: every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. However, the Christian condition should be oriented toward fulfilling God's purpose of loving others. As John wrote: This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:10-11) We are to be servants of the Most High. Because of the Holy Spirit in us, we should reveal the love of God, putting the needs of others above our own needs. Paul tells the Corinthians to place the weak brethren's needs above their own. “Everything is permissible” — but not everything is beneficial. Yes, we might have escaped the corruption of the world because of Christ' work. Yes, we might be in right standing because of Christ's sacrifice, but we need to think of others above ourselves. As Paul wrote in another letter: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4) Paul warns the church not to let their place of righteousness and their freedom IN CHRIST hurt their fellow believers. Instead, they should take on the work of a servant, faithfully serving the weaker brethren for the cause of Christ. But if anyone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake — the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours.
We who are alive in Christ have his divine nature and the privilege of loving others in his name. We have escaped the corruption of the world through his mighty power in us. Therefore, we should live as He would live in all situations. We read in 2 Peter 3-4: His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness. We know how Jesus would act in difficult situations because we have knowledge of how he acted when he was on Earth. We know He showed love to people and died for all, even for his enemies. Peter says because we have his divine will and since we have escaped the corruption of this world, we should put on Christ in every situation. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. (2 Peter 5-7) These characteristics of Christ should be put on our lives, like clothing on our bodies. If we put on Christ in all situations, we will seek to implement the following words: Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. The weak in faith will find strength from our actions and attitudes. They will see that our lives are pictures of peace and mercy. They will want to emulate the lives of those who love them beyond their own well-being and needs. During a particularly hard time in her own life, God allowed Mom to help a neighbor lady who had cancer with daily chores and to take her to Seattle to doctor appointments. At first the woman would not let Mom talk about Jesus at all. Later on after a relationship developed, before this very hard woman passed, Mom was able to pray with her. She told Mom, "I know God loves me because He gave me a friend like you." God loves through us. Today, may we all follow Paul's teaching for the good of others with the Holy Spirit's help.
No comments:
Post a Comment